Newsletter May 2025

Dear Artist,

May has arrived — and the sunshine came to welcome it in the best way! We hope you're all enjoying the brighter days and a well-deserved touch of spring - dare I say summer! - energy.

This month brings a delightful agenda: an exciting workshop to kick things off and our much-loved Pop-Up event to round it out! And with a couple of bank holidays sprinkled in, there's even more to look forward to wishing you a joyful and creative May — we can’t wait to see you soon!

WHAT’S HAPPENED IN APRIL

JANE’S ALISON WORKSHOP

Jane began our session with a brief but fascinating and thought-provoking talk exploring the tradition of portrait painting. She then, with the aid of an extremely realistic skull model, gave us a grounding in the structure and proportions of the human head and face, pointing out several key ratios.

We started with a few quick pencil sketches of our model, followed by an interesting exercise using an eraser to create an image from a charcoal-covered surface.

After that, we were ready to tackle our subject in the medium of our choice. Jane was on hand throughout to guide and support us, encouraging a critical eye and helping us make adjustments where needed. Four hours flew by!

This report wouldn't be complete without a special mention of our model — our Chairman, John Jeffrey — who kindly volunteered his time and refused to accept any payment. Not only that, but he proved to be an excellent model with fantastic stamina, maintaining his good humour through nearly four solid hours of

sitting still. Thank you, John!

Thank you also to all our members who came along and supported the event.

Finally, a huge thank you to our President, Jane Allison, for a brilliant workshop!

WHAT’S COMING

PROGRAMME

We have a new workshop for the month of May and here is a little reminder of all the events that are to

come!

NEW! WORKSHOP BY CATHERINE MCVEAN

Saturday 3rd of May, 2pm to 4pm at St Catherine's

Village Hall.

POP UP AT HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, GUILDFORD

Saturday 31st of May, from 9.30am-6pm, at Holy

Trinity Church.

AGM

Saturday 21st of June, 2pm - at St Catherine's Village

Hall

DEMO WITH CHRIS FORSEY - MIXED MEDIA

WATERCOLOUR

Saturday 21 of June, starts at 2.30pm at St

Catherine's Village Hall

It helps with catering if you can let us know that you are going to attend via the following email address: exhibcoord.gas@outlook.com. We hope to see you there!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

POP UP AT HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, GUILDFORD 

SATURDAY 31ST OF MAY, FROM 9.30AM-6PM, AT HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.

We’ll be opening the church doors early on the day of the Pop-Up to allow exhibitors todrop off their artwork before 8:30am, ahead of the High Street closing to vehicles.

Likewise, the church will remain open late so that exhibitors can collect any unsold workafter 6:00pm, once the High Street has reopened to cars.

If you plan to attend, please let us know so we can plan accordingly: gas.pop.up@gmail.com

We are looking forward to seeing you all and to have a wonderful day at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford!

LOOKING FOR A NEW TREASURER

Our Society is urgently looking for a new Treasurer to join our team!

We need someone who is comfortable with numbers, computer-literate, and ideally has experience managing funds or has an accounting/finance background.

A good working knowledge of Excel would be especially helpful.

Your main responsibilities will include tracking our finances and managing artist payments. If you or someone you know would be a great fit for this role, please reach out!

As a committee, we meet every 2-3 months—and our meetings always include coffee and biscuits!

A full handover will be provided by Caroline to ensure a smooth transition.

Interested? Get in touch at: secretary.gas@outlook.com